Thieves are stripping the historic Federal Building of its beautiful brass. A Stockton architectural treasure will be ruined unless a way is found to stop them.

The brass thieves have even ripped out the four exquisite 12-foot lamps from the front of the 1933 building, Stockton's old main post office at 401 N. San Joaquin St.

"I saw those lamps missing and it gave me chest pains," said Wes Swanson, chairman of the Cultural Heritage Board. "I just about cried. I couldn't believe it."

County officials who now occupy the building are asking the community for help.

The two-story building, once a hive of federal offices, is considered the best specimen of Depression-era federal design in the region.

It harmoniously combines neoclassical Roman architecture with the streamlined, flat planes of Art Moderne. In plainer language, Stocktonians blended classical architecture with new ideas to create a building that is totally cool.

The soaring interior is also a first-class masterpiece of terrazzo-and-brass floors, two Depression-era wall murals, marble, copper, white oak - and brass.

The problem is that brass brings around $1.49 a pound at recycling centers. The building drips with brass: lamps, stair rails, doors and ornamentation.

While still largely occupied, the building is not the crossroads it once was. Visitors are relatively few, neighborhood foot traffic light. That makes the building more vulnerable.

"It looks like a team that's going there," said Stockton police spokesman Joe Silva - apparently a skilled team of brass thieves with major power tools and a truck, working at night or on weekends. "Definitely one person is not doing it," Silva said.

Police have "educated" recycling centers to report anything suspicious. Bringing in the prettiest streetlights this side of Buckingham Palace would certainly qualify. But whether recyclers do report, police cannot know.

The San Joaquin County Office of Education took over the building when the U.S. Postal Service moved out in 2008.

Operating on a 30-year lease, the SJCOE opened the Business Leadership Academy in the building. And accepted responsibility for stewarding the historical structure.

The county paid for 24/7 security until exterior security cameras could be installed.

Unfortunately, federal historical preservation rules prohibit drilling mounts into the stone walls where the cameras would do the most good. So far the cameras have not captured shots that could ID the thieves.

"That's nonsense," Swanson said. "If it really comes down to mounting the cameras to prevent theft, drill away. There is absolutely no enforcement of the (preservation) laws. There are no Federal Antique Building Police."

The county removed the remaining brass stair rails to a secure location. It is replacing the rails, and seeking a foundry to recast the lamps, using less-valuable metal.

"We just felt it would be foolish to replace them with the same thing that was being stolen," said Kleinert.

The police Bike Patrol keeps an eye on the building by day. Police cruisers drive by at night - if they are not tied up by other calls, as they often are.

Anyone who knows the thieves can report them anonymously to Crime Stoppers by calling (209) 946-0600.

So far, security measures have proven inadequate. The building is going to be picked clean unless stronger measures are taken.

The county appealed to the community to help it preserve its treasure.

"We would be more than open to any assistance or support or resource to help us," Kleinert said.

For instance, the county could give a security firm a suite of offices for reduced or free rent in exchange for providing building security.

I urge you to get involved in saving this building. If you can help, or you have suggestions for making the building more secure, call Kleinert at (209) 468-9005.

The thieves aren't just stealing brass, they are stealing the community's historical fabric, said Swanson.

"They are historical documents," Swanson said of buildings like the Federal Building. "Extremely important period pieces. If removed, the history of the city is damaged. It's like, why shouldn't we just tear up pieces of the Constitution and give them away as a souvenir?"

Contact columnist Michael Fitzgerald at (209) 546-8270 or michaelf@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/fitzgeraldblog and @Stocktonopolis.